I’ve grown tired and weary of hearing the baloney that poor people are lazy, that they are just looking for a free ride. I’m tired of churches passing the plate around for the second time, so that they can buy fancy new lights for the sanctuary. When, will come the time when the precious teachings of Jesus are taken seriously?

For well over a decade, I worked for the old Amalgamated Weluvmony Telephone Company. I came in early for work, stayed super late to get a project done, I came in Saturdays, the whole nine yards. I changed plans at a minute’s notice to accommodate a sudden need of the business. And guess what? They rewarded me by treating me like dirt my last six months there. They disbanded the unit that I worked for. And then, I was out of work, looking for another job.

I would get up at six in the morning, Monday to Friday. I would be out the door, hitting the pavement by eight in the morning. I would go for two or three interviews a day. I registered with at least a dozen employment agencies. But, this was in the mid 1990’s. It was the dawn of the age of the downsize in northern New Jersey.

And, what hurt me so deeply is that my best friends betrayed me. One time I was at the after-church coffee time, and I overheard a “good friend” bad mouthing me. The usual baloney that I was just too lazy to find another job. This was one of the most celebrated, upstanding Christians in this church. Once again, if the churches spent just half the money, half the energy, half the meeting time on the true teachings of Jesus (instead of worrying about trying to make the inside and outside of the church look picture perfect) a lot of the problems of poverty would be remedied.

Sadly, during my days of looking for a job, some of my own relatives told me that I was being lazy. I’m not talking about my mom, my dad or my sister here. But, sadly, some of my own relatives were less than kind to me during my tireless job search.

The fact of the matter is that any one of us could hit poverty level in less than a year’s time. Most of us could become homeless in less than a year’s time. Think about it. If you feel secure in your present job, please think it out, seriously think it out. These big companies and these big conglomerate corporations would sell your soul to make a dollar.

Please, judge not. Love one another. Help the poor. Give of yourself to help abolish poverty. Please know, poor people are not looking to get something for nothing. They are flesh and blood people, who simply are going through some tough times and need a helping hand.